CHILDREN'S foil balloons may be outlawed in MTR stations after a rogue Minnie Mouse balloon floated into a tunnel and brought rush-hour traffic to a halt.
About 100,000 commuters were forced to wait in stations on the Island line after the helium-filled balloon tripped an electric current and burned through an overhead cable.
The incident happened at 6.46 am in Causeway Bay, bringing all trains between Admiralty and Quarry Bay to a standstill for 11/2 hours.
The Mass Transit Railway Corporation said it was considering a ban on the balloons particularly during festivals.
But that would force the company to hire security guards to take the balloons from children, it conceded.
Operations director Bill Donald said the corporation did not want a reputation as a kill-joy and would try to find a practical compromise.
He said runaway balloons caused hundreds of stoppages each year, including 10 during Lunar New Year. Yesterday's was the only balloon to sever a power line, creating chaos and forcing emergency repairs.